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It's Friday night at the Javelina Cantina, a Tex-Mex saloon in Tucson, Ariz., and the standing-room-only crowd is ringing in the weekend with pitchers of beer and all-you-can-eat fajitas. Fresh off the golf course, Nancy Lopez and Lorie Kane fit right in.

Hockey fans have long since become accustomed to the mercenary nature of modern professional sports: players whose seven-figure salaries are not enough to anchor them to a team or a town, and even teams themselves that abandon those towns for newer arenas and sweet tax concessions elsewhere.

There are stories for every scar on Steve Yzerman's otherwise handsome mug, and they are not for the faint of heart. They tell of a man who, though comparatively slight by modern National Hockey League standards (five-11, 185 lb.), isn't afraid of the rough going.

Roberto Velazquez Alomar, Toronto Blue Jays baseball player 1990-95 (born at Ponce, Puerto Rico 5 Feb 1968). Roberto Alomar grew up in Salinas, Puerto Rico, the son of major league player Sandy Alomar and brother of major league all-star catcher Santos "Sandy" Alomar Jr.

In the select fraternity of race-car drivers - men who squeeze behind the wheel of the "tub" and turn a skeleton of thin carbon fibre into a howling, fuel-slurping, rubber-sizzling bullet - talk among the brethren sometimes turns to fear.

Mike Weir may be the latest Great Canadian Hope in men's golf, but he is not infallible. At the PGA Tour's Greater Vancouver Open in late August, the 27-year-old from Bright's Grove, Ont., had his high hopes dashed on the slick, undulating greens of Northview Golf Club in suburban Surrey.

Charles Gorman, speed skater (b at Saint John 6 July 1897; d at St Martins, NB 11 Feb 1940). Despite suffering a shrapnel wound in one leg during WWI, Charlie Gorman's international success earned him the title of "the man with the million dollar legs.

George Henry Goulding, track and field athlete (b at Hull, Eng Nov 1885; d at Toronto 3 Feb 1966). Originally attracted to marathon racing with the Toronto Central YMCA, George Goulding began &QUOT;heel-and-toe&QUOT; (walk)

Grant Fuhr, hockey player (b at Spruce Grove, Alta 28 Sept 1962). Grant Fuhr was one of the National Hockey League's best-ever goalies and a member of the outstanding Edmonton Oilers lineup of the 1980s.

Lawrence Patrick David Gillick, baseball executive, general manager Toronto Blue Jays (born at Chico, California, 22 Aug 1937). Pat Gillick grew up in Sherman Oaks, California, and was educated at the University of Southern California, where he earned a business degree.

For a few suspenseful seconds last week, tens of millions of hearts beat a little faster across North America. Maintenance workers hovered in the doorways of executive offices to catch a glimpse of the television screen.

Wayne Gretzky has a long memory. The most prolific scorer in the history of hockey can recall the tiniest details of past games. His business life has been enhanced by his ability to remember names and faces, and he never forgets the kindness of friends.

Jean Boyle is used to being the best. An athlete as a youth in Ottawa's largely francophone east end, he won a black belt in judo by the age of 20. As an officer cadet at the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ont.